Dr. Giuseppe Faraco

On its face, the logic seems straightforward. Eating too much salt can lead to high blood pressure; numerous studies have shown that having hypertension in midlife makes it more likely that you’ll develop certain forms of dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease, in later years.

A high-salt diet may negatively affect cognitive function by causing a deficiency of the compound nitric oxide, which is vital for maintaining vascular health in the brain, according to a new study in mice from Weill Cornell Medicine researchers.